The Girls Have Arrived: Our Bees Are Home

It was an early morning at Desert Farms Apiary, but a very good one.

At 5:00 a.m., while the temperatures were still cool and the bees were tucked inside their hives, we began the final move of our colonies from the Grandview/Sunnyside area to their new home in West Richland.

And now, the girls have officially arrived.

This move marks another major milestone for Desert Farms Apiary. What began with acquiring equipment, hive components, honey-processing gear, and an established beekeeping operation is becoming something very real here at the farm. With the arrival of the live colonies, our apiary is no longer something we're preparing for—it's here.

The bees weren't the only thing making the trip. We also brought home five more supers of honey, adding to the honey already waiting to be extracted and bottled. Those supers represent countless flights, millions of flowers visited, and an incredible amount of work by these colonies before they ever arrived at Desert Farms Apiary.

Moving live honey bee colonies isn't quite like moving ordinary farm equipment. Timing matters. The hives need to be secured, entrances closed after the foragers have returned, and the move completed while temperatures are cool enough to keep stress on the colonies to a minimum. That meant an early start, careful loading, and getting everyone safely to their new location.

A huge thank you to Tyler, who came out to help with the 5 a.m. move. Having an extra set of hands when moving live colonies—and some very heavy boxes full of bees and honey—made a tremendous difference.

Now the colonies will have some time to settle into their new surroundings, reorient themselves, and begin exploring the forage available around their new home.

For us, this is one of those moments we've been looking forward to since Desert Farms Apiary began taking shape.

The equipment is arriving.
The honey house is coming together.
The honey is waiting to be processed.

And now the bees are home.

Welcome to West Richland, girls. 🐝

— Desert Farms Apiary
West Richland, Washington